Today’s Meditation

From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

- Ephesians 4:16 (NIV)

I was finishing an incredibly stressful semester when one day I awoke facedown on the black-andwhite checkered floor of my college dorm’s hallway. Luckily for me, as I would find out, what had happened was a relatively common form of fainting brought about by fatigue and dehydration. A very simple thing — the misfiring of one nerve — led to my passing out. It was a reminder of how incredibly complicated and miraculous our bodies are. Each is unique. Each has different challenges, struggles, and pains; but each body also has special beauty. The more that modern science tells us about how our bodies function, the more miraculous they seem.

In a similar way the body of Christ is a miracle. Despite our many differences, we somehow work together to do the work of Christ in the world. In today’s reading, Paul describes the body of Christ in vivid detail, knit together by ligaments of love. Our striving together is a miracle of love. In spite of our human frailties, God does not keep distance from us but works alongside and through us to do truly amazing things.

David Hosey

(Washington, DC)

Thought for the Day: The body God gave me is a good and beautiful thing.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the gift of our bodies. Empower us to use them to further the message of Jesus. Amen.